


Multilinguals and the depth of "I love you" across languages

by singlemalter



Series: The Grid’s Apocrypha [3]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Gen, Implied Relationships, Languages and Linguistics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:11:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22046236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/singlemalter/pseuds/singlemalter
Summary: Keywords:Love; Communication of emotion; Emotional weight; Multilingualism
Relationships: Charles Leclerc/Max Verstappen, Lando Norris/Carlos Sainz Jr
Series: The Grid’s Apocrypha [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1533062
Comments: 26
Kudos: 73





	Multilinguals and the depth of "I love you" across languages

**6\. Results**

Nearly half of the participants (_n_ = 483) perceived the phrase to be more meaningful in their L1 as compared to an LX, mentioning cultural and personal factors. 35% (_n_ = 343) felt both the L1 and an LX carried comparable significance, while a minority (_n_ = 155) considered an LX stronger than the L1.

_6.1. I love you has greater weight in the L1_

One participant, who perceives the L1 as more powerful, notes the multiple translations of I love you in an LX:

CS (Spanish L1, English L2, dominant in Spanish): There is no comparison for me… Spanish is a lot deeper, stronger than English. Especially because there are many ways to say I love you in Spanish. English is just I love you. Te quiero doesn’t mean the same as te amo.

Cultural differences and personal upbringing experiences also play a role in some participants’ perception of the L1 as stronger:

Max (Dutch L1, German L2, English L3, dominant in Dutch): With my family, we didn’t say I love you all the time. It was more of an action thing. If I say it in Dutch, then you know it’s serious, we’re actually close, my feelings for you are strong. But in English it’s easier. I’m dating a French speaker who doesn’t speak Dutch, and I refused to say it until he said it in his first language.

_6.2. I love you has equal weight in the L1 and an LX_

Some participants refer to their motivation for learning an LX as a reason for the emotional equivalent between multiple languages:

LH (English L1, German L2, dominant in English): I learned some German to be closer to my husband… saying “Ich liebe dich” is a big reason why I learned German at all! So I can’t say English feels more special, no. If my close friends or my family spoke German, I would tell them I loved them in German in the same way.

Parity between speaking contexts also leads participants to view an LX as similar to the L1:

Charles (French L1, English L2, Ligurian L3, Italian L4, German L5, dominant in French): I don’t know if I have one language that is more important than the rest when I say it. I don’t think so. I say it in English because it’s what I use to talk at home, with my partner, but I say it in French to my family. It feels the same in French and English, even if it’s different kinds of love.

_6.3. I love you has greater weight in an LX_

Lando considers the sentence to carry deeper meaning in Spanish due to his long-term relationship with a native speaker:

Lando (English L1, Dutch L2, Spanish L3, dominant in English): It’s defintely (sic) not common but I feel like it means more when I say it in Spanish. A lot of my communication is in English, but I speak mostly Spanish to my fiancé. I’ve said “I love you” in English to most of my close friends, but “te amo” is way more personal.

There is also an interesting link between diasporic communities and the emotion attached to the phrase, as said by DR:

DR (English L1, Italian L2, French L3, dominant in English): Saying it in Italian feels stronger. I’m the kid of an immigrant and a daughter of Italians, but we never really spoke Italian at home—I even chose to pronounce my last name in an English way instead. Except for saying I love you. My mum taught me some simple phrases like I love you in Italian. It helped me feel closer to my grandparents, in a way, and I still tell her that. I’m a very grounded person, I love feeling close to my family, and having that connection to my roots is good for me.

Another participant, Alex, has the same sentiment:

Alex (English L1, Thai L2, dominant in English): I don’t speak much Thai at all, but that might play a role in everything feeling stronger in it! It’s like it’s reserved for special occasions. Even though I grew up speaking English, I don’t find saying I love you as deep.

**Author's Note:**

> Blatantly inspired/ripped off by/from (however you prefer) Prof. Jean-Marc Dewaele's work. Dude's out here talking about anxiety when switching languages and the depth of _I love you_. I'm gay and I love languages.
> 
> You get to pick which German WDC Lewis is married to. Isn't that dope?
> 
> Did y'all know Monaco is the only place with a variant of Ligurian (Monégasque) in its school curriculum? Bullshit! Ligurian is a beautiful language. 
> 
> I'm still singlemalter on Tumblr!


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